Earl is fit, keen and happy to fight Cooper as well

A Twitter war erupted between the pair after Earl heard about Cooper's bout with Barry Dunnett in Brisbane on February 8.

Playing lawn bowls with his Raiders teammates on Saturday, Earl couldn't resist having some fun.

''Putting it out there if Quade Cooper wins I will throw my hand up to fight him in his next fight!! #watageeup #doitforfree,'' he tweeted.

It would set up a tantalising bout between the two rugby codes with bragging rights up for grabs.

Cooper took the bait on Monday and a war of tweets ensued with the Reds No.10 finishing with: ''Thats ok, I wish you all the best #fringeplayer''.

Earl, who's also made a name for himself as an underwear model, was standing by his tweet when contacted by Fairfax Media on Monday.

The 23-year-old said it started out as a tongue-in-cheek comment but he'd follow through if Cooper was game. ''It was a bit of a fun comment, but if the offer was there [to fight Cooper] I'd definitely take it,'' he said.

Earl is no stranger to the boxing ring. While most of his Raiders teammates were on their Christmas break, he went to Thailand with Parramatta duo Reni Maitua and Willie Tonga for a Muay Thai kick boxing camp.

''I did do some [mixed martial arts] training and some wrestling training, which I thought would be good practically for football,'' he said.

''I went over there and did some training in the break, I thought if I'm training while others are perhaps resting during the break it's always good to have the advantage. It was a good experience.''

Earl is having his first full pre-season in years and the former Penrith Panther and Sydney Rooster said it has him in the best shape he has been in.

Meanwhile, Raiders prop Tom Learoyd-Lahrs has withdrawn from the NRL All Stars game due to a hamstring injury he sustained in the lead-up to Christmas and was turning his focus solely on being ready for round one against the Panthers.

''He's just had a few niggles holding him back here and there in training, so I guess from his personal view he probably just wants to really focus on getting himself right for Canberra,'' Earl said. ''Which I guess is understandable, it's always hard sometimes, it's at an awkward time that All Star game, but good on Tommy that he wants to put the club first.''

The All Stars game is in Brisbane on February 9.

This story was found at: http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-league/league-news/earl-is-fit-keen-and-happy-to-fight-cooper-as-well-20130114-2cq0y.html